Jonas walter aylsworth



J. W. AYLSWORTH. ART OF MANUFACTURING ELECTRICAL INCANDESCINGCONDUCTCRS.

No. 653,296. Paje'nted Jan. 21, 1896.

Niobium Ue,00sifed upon Fila'rflenf MEMO/Jam Q I 1 um 45.52%;

' referringtothe accompanying drawing, which UNITED STAT S PATENTOFFICE.

JONAS \(VALTER AYLS\VORT1I, OF NE\VARK, NEVV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF'ONE-HALF 'lO CONVERSE I). MARSH, OF NE\-V YORK, N. Y.

ART OF MANUFACTURING ELECTRICAL INCANDESCING CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,296, dated January21, 1896. Application filedi'luly 27, 1894- Renewed April 6, 1895.Serial No. 544,827. (No specimens.)

known to be non-fusible for such temperatures. as arecapable ofpractical application in the arts and also are non-ductile.

My invention has forits object the conversion of such refractory metalsinto such form or condition as will render them capable of practical usefor incandescing conductors and I for use generally in the arts. Priorto my invention no one, so far as lam aware, has been enabled to convertmetals of this generic type into sheets, bars, rods orwires. Iaccomplish this result'by heating a base or support'in the vapor of 'avolatile halogen compound of the element which it is desired to'depositand simultaneously mix it with a reducing-gas, as hydrogen.

My invention will be fully "understood by illustrates in sectional viewan apparatus for preparing an incandescent electrical conductor of anyofthe metals of the character named. Y

Referringto the drawing indetaiL A represents a heating-chamber providedwith an outlet D for the products'of combustion and any type of heatingdevice, as a Bunsen-or with a gas-main.

other gas-burner, having gas-tips B B, the

same being connected by a supply-pipe P (Not shown.) P is a peep-hole inthe side of the heatingchamber for observing the different stages of theprocess.

G is a retainingv'vessel, made of glass, capable of withstanding greatheat and having two tubes T and T, the former for admitting hydrogengasunder pressure and the latter .for conveying away the resultant gases orvapors.

P is the usual form of incandescent lampstopper provided within-leadingwires L and L, connected at their outer ends toconductors 10and 10', which run to a generator of electrieity, (not shown,) buthaving sufficient voltage and current capacity to heata carbon orother'conducting base or support C to incandescence. v

S represents the halogen compound of the metal to be treated.

I take an ore of the metal to he treatedsuoli, for instance, ascolumbite, which is. a wellknown ore of niobiumandI treat itby anywell-known chemical process for separating the oxides of such nietalsand obtain in this manner niobium oxide or oxides of equivalent metals,or such as belongto or are closely allied to'the same group as niobium-as, for instance, tantalum. After the oxide is thus separated from itsore I then convert it into a volatile halogen compound by thewell-knownapplication of mixing such oxides with char I coal and heat it to a highdegree of temperature in a-currentof dry halogen gas, suchas' 7.5chlorine or bromine. This halogen compound S is seen in position in theretaining-vessel G.

I now submit the retaining-vessel and its contents to the'heat of Bunsenburners or other extraneous heating agencies B B, and simul- 8otaneously pass through the chamber a stream of a reducing'gas, ashydrogen, by way of the inlet and outlet tubes'l and '1". I then pass.

a sufficient current of electricity through the conductors w 16' and thecarbon or other base or support Cto heat it to incandescence withoutrupture. There results from-the union .of

the hydrogen gas and vapors arising from the halogen compound a depositof the pure metal, as niobium, upon the filament base or support 0. Thisprocess is continued until the deposit reaches the desired thickness.

I-Ialogen compounds of any of the highlyretractory meta-ls abovereferred to or any of the equivalent highly-refractory metals 5 known inthe art of metallurgy may be used in place of the halogen compound ofniobium and the pure metals thereof deposited in the manner indicated. Ihave succeeded in dopositing in this manner tantalum, niobium, ioomolybdenum, titanium, and zirconium, con tinuing the process in eachiustance'until the carbon core or other conducting filament C wassurrounded with such metals.

I do not limit myself tothe application of any special means of heatingthe containingvesscl G, as the same might be effected by applying heatthereto in any manner which will readily suggest'itself to those skilledin the art.

Although I have shown herein a special application of my improvedprocess in the production of an incandescing conductor or filament fromany of the metals of the general character referred to, I do not limitmyself to the application of this process for such special purpose, asit is obvious that the process might be applied to the manufacture ofsheets or bars of such metals by depositing the same upon one or bothsides of a flat sheet of such material heated either electrically orfrom one side by any extraneous source of heat applied thereto.

My claims are directed broadly to the application of the genericprinciple herein enunciated of depositing refractory metals of thecharacter named upon a base or support to such an extent as to constructwires, sheets or bars of the material so deposited, which wires, sheetsor bars may be capable of various uses in the arts.

I make no claim in the present application to an incandescing conductormade of any of the refractory metals of the same generic class, asclaims are made in separate applications of men date herewith toincandescing conduetors constructed of these particular types of metal.

I am aware of United States Patent No. 401,120, granted April 9, 1-889,to Turner D.-

Bottome, and of United States Patent No. 487,046, granted November 29,1892, to James Clegg, and I make no claim hereinafterbr'oad enoughtoinclude the processes described in said patents for the purpose ofstrengthening carbon filaments, my invention being'directed broadly to anovel method of making a metallic filament of any of the refractorymetals hereinbefore referred 'to andin accordance with the method orprocess herei'nbefore described and hereinafter particularly claimed.

electric lamp, consisting in subjecting a halogen 0 impound of arefractory metal and a reducin g vapor or gas to heat and simultaneouslypassing a sufiicient current of electricity through a conductingbase orsupport to effect a deposit of the metal of the halogen conipound uponsalid base or support.

3. The descri method or process of preparing incandescing electricalconductors of highly refractory metals, consisting in subjecting ahalogen compound of the metal to be used to the effects of heat and areducing gas and simultaneously giving to a conduct ing base filament orsupport surrounded by said gas and the vapors emanating from the halogen-lcompound an incandescence sufficient to effect a deposit of the metalof the compound upon the base filament or support. 4. The describedmethod or process of pro ducing or preparing incandescing filaments orwires from refractory metals as niobium,

consisting in subjectingahalogen compound;

of the metal to the united influenceof. heat and a reducing gas andsimultaneously giving to a conducting filament or base sur- "rounded bythe gas and the vapor of the halogen compound an incandescencesufficient to cause the metal of the halogen compound to be depositedthereon.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day ofJuly, 1894.

JONAS WALTER- AYLSWORTH.

Witnesses I C. J. Knvrnna,

M. M. ROBINSON. I

